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Vol. CXXXVI—No. 24

Friday, February 17, 2012

At Milvets Ball, a moment to reflect

Residents to allocate $1M to local projects

Annual celebration ‘bridges gap between service and society’

BY CASEY TOLAN Spectator Senior Staff Writer

BY MADINA TOURE Spectator Senior Staff Writer

The City Council has set aside over $1 million for improvement projects on the Upper West Side, and it’ll be the residents who decide how to spend the money.

A pilot program in “participatory budgeting” allows city residents to vote on neighborhood projects they want to see implemented and make recommendations to their elected officials.

Four City Council members are partaking, including Melissa Mark-Viverito, who represents District 8, which includes Manhattan Valley.

“Ordinarily the decisions lie with council members … but this year there’s at least $1 million we’ve set aside for the community to directly decide which projects they want to see funded,” said Joseph Taranto, deputy chief of staff for Mark-Viverito.

Residents came together Thursday night to discuss funding for the different proposals, which range from a renovated school gym to new basketball courts in a local park.

At a youth hostel on Amsterdam Avenue at 104th Street, it was a scene reminiscent of a science fair as Upper West Siders perused through hand-made tri-fold boards describing the various projects.

“This is the first time in the city, and only the second time in the U.S.,” after Chicago, Taranto said.

ANA BAUTISTA FOR SPECTATOR

STARS AND STRIPES Three of Columbia’s veterans stand in uniform beside the flag at Thursday night’s second annual Military Ball in Low Library. |

SEE BUDGETING, page 2

Over half of ’11 grads employed, highest rate since recession

BY LILLIAN CHEN Spectator Staff Writer The prospect of job-hunting is intimidating for any college student, but things are looking up for recent Columbia graduates.

Employment rates for Columbia College and School of Engineering and Applied Science students are nearly 10 percentage points higher than they were last year, according to the Center for Career Education’s 2011 Graduating Student Survey.

In 2009, only 36.3 percent of CC and SEAS graduates were employed following graduation—the lowest in five years.

Numbers were up in 2010, but 2011 is the first year that they are higher—by nearly 5 percentage points—than prerecession levels, with 55.7 percent of graduates employed.

CCE Dean Kavita Sharma said that the increase was the sum of a number of factors, especially the impact of the recession on students’ attitudes.

“It really helped students realize that the market is very competitive … and they have to be very engaged in searching for jobs and internships and starting early,” Sharma said.

Since the recession, students have been more proactive in their job searches, she said, showing greater interest in CCE’s advising resources and setting up more advising appointments. CCE has also hosted more career fairs and worked to increase the number of jobs and internships posted on its job-searching website, LionSHARE. The number of jobs and internships posted has jumped

columbiaspectator.com

from 10,000 three years ago to over 16,000 this past year, CCE Executive Director Al Spuler said.

“There are a couple new career fairs this spring,” he added. “We felt it was really necessary to expand and include other industries.”

Nearly 27 percent of 2011 CC and SEAS graduates entered the financial services industry, followed by 10.5 percent in consulting, and 9.8 percent in education. The top 10 employers for graduates include a slew of financial companies, Teach For America, and Columbia itself.

In addition to the shift in students’ approach to the job search, new strategies to reach students have been implemented by CCE. Niamh O’Brien, director of undergraduate career development at CCE, said CCE includes an outreach team dedicated to connecting students and employers.

“With the recession, a lot of students felt it’s hopeless,” O’Brien said. “We took every stride possible to get out and connect with students.”

Beezly Kiernan, CC ’11, said he was not surprised by the higher figures. “My experience with CCE was about what I expected it to be, though maybe less than what I hoped it would be,” he said in an email. “People in CCE definitely work hard to present students with lots of opportunities and to connect students with employers.”

At the same time, Kiernan said, there are limits to CCE’s powers. It “is no substitute for family connections or good

SEE EMPLOYMENT, page 3

Societal obligations to soldiers and the gap between academia and the military and were among the messages speakers embraced at the Columbia Military Veterans’ annual Military Ball.

The second annual military ball—hosted by U.S. Military Veterans of Columbia University and Student Veterans of America—took place in Low Library on Thursday night. The event sold out 200 tickets and sought a crowd of veterans and nonveterans, exploring the theme of service and scholarship.

Guest speakers included English professor Marianne Giordani and Colonel Brian J. Reed. Giordani spoke about the similarities between academia and the military, citing a time in which a professor criticized her for including the “Iliad” in her curriculum because it was “too violent.”

“One of my colleagues started up a conversation and we both happened to be teaching ancient and classic literature and I said, ‘Homer, of course,’ and she frowned and said, ‘The “Iliad”?’” Without hesitation, Giordani replied, “‘Of course the “Iliad,”’ and she said, ‘I don’t teach that. It’s too violent.’”

She responded, “I didn’t know whether to punch her in the face right then and there or call the police.”

She condemned what she said was the lack of appreciation for veterans but was pleased that they have had a more increased presence on campuses.

“I would rather have Achilles flying at me, spear in hand, than a lawyer armed with sophistries,” she said. “And this is what we’re kind of dealing with, I think right now, with a sort of lack of appreciation for the military, which I think we will resolve because so many really amazing men and women are now flooding the campuses.”

Reed emphasized that military service has enabled citizens to learn skills and gain experiences “throughout the history of our nation and more so since World War II.” “Our society has the moral obligation to ensure treatment for physical and mental disabilities and to address circumstances that lead to homelessness and its consequences,” Reed said.

Azar Boehm, GS and Milvets vice president, served as master of ceremonies. He said that the event sought to cut across all sectors of the University.

“The goal is pretty much bringing not only our veterans together, but also to include the entire Columbia community in the ball,” Boehm said.

The event, Boehm said, was meant to give people “a sense SEE MILVETS, page 2

CUMC Islam week breaks down generalizations follows plan to cut down energy usage

BY BIANCA DENNIS Spectator Staff Writer

BY VARUN CHAR Spectator Staff Writer Columbia’s uptown campus is making progress on its commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

The Columbia University Medical Center has recently completed the first step of an energy master plan it adopted in 2009 by creating a building management system for the one of the largest buildings on the Washington Heights campus.

The plan is to reduce emissions by 30 percent before 2025.

The new system at the William Black Medical Research Building “digitizes the control of electric and heating systems to optimize it for tenant comfort and energy efficiency for, say, when the building might not be occupied,” Rachel Futrell, CUMC associate director of energy management and sustainability, said.

The school is currently in the first phase of the plan, which requires the most significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and therefore necessitates the biggest changes to campus facilities, Futrell said.

Mi Wang, GSAS and a University Senator representing graduate students in natural sciences, said that the lack of efficient heating and cooling systems has been a problem in the past.

“A couple of years ago, when students met with building

SEE ENERGY, page 3

The diversity of students celebrating Islam Awareness Week reflected the core of the message the Muslim Students Association hoped to convey: Nothing can be generalized about Islam.

Over the last week, MSA hosted lectures and performances to dispel misconceptions about Islam. Irem Bilgic, SEAS ’12 and president of MSA, said he hoped the week would “inform people about the different backgrounds individuals bring to their faith.”

“A certain culture can not really represent all Muslim cultures because there are a lot of differences among Muslims themselves,” Bilgic, who is Muslim and of Turkic

descent, said.

A common thread to the events over the last week was a call to action for those within the Muslim community to educate those who do not understand that Muslims come from a variety of backgrounds.

Alay Syed, BC ’15 and an organizational committee member of MSA, recalled being subject to verbal abuse from patrons of her family-owned store on Staten Island in the wake of 9/11.

Her sister was often yelled at for wearing her hijab, she said.

Classmates blamed her. “People started asking me, ‘Why did you do it?’” she said. “And I’m like, ‘I didn’t do anything.’”

At Monday’s event, “The Muslim Next Door,” panelists addressed assumptions and generalizations often made

about Islam. Anthropology professor Lila Abu-Lughod criticized what she described as an increasingly popular genre of writing in which Muslim women are portrayed as helpless property, putting Muslim men in a bad light. Many of these books, she said, portray events that did not happen.

“You have to ask, ‘What does this do?’ These books are sold to millions. It’s creating an emotional bedrock about Muslim women and how they are treated,” Abu-Lughod said. “These books, these representations, define views and structure feelings about Muslim women and their rights.”

Wajahat Ali, author of “The Domestic Crusaders,” a book about the media’s influence SEE ISLAM, page 3

LUKE HENDERSON / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

CULTURAL BUFFET | The Muslim Students Association celebrated Islam Awareness Week with panels, performances, and food, to emphasize the variety of backgrounds Muslim students hail from.

OPINION, PAGE 4

SPORTS, BACK PAGE

EVENTS

WEATHER

For any audience

Lions travel to compete at Princeton, Penn

Building Blocks: Knowledge and Innovative Cities

Today

Jeremy Liss discusses how students can make their writing more public.

United university Dean Carlos Alonso of SGA sees no paradox between research and teaching.

After giving up a huge lead at home against Yale, men’s basketball looks to get back on track in away games at defending Ivy League champion Princeton and third-place Penn.

Tomorrow

Experts explore the role of technological innovation in the modern city.

Wood Auditorium, Avery, 10 a.m.

Career Fairs 101 Prepare for upcoming career and internship fairs at this CCE workshop.

CCE Conference Room, 10:30 a.m.

55°/ 36°

54°/ 37°

NEWS

PAGE 2

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

Ball brings together vets, non-vets to reflect, memorialize MILVETS from front page of the military traditions and to also honor the service of our veterans at Columbia.”

The event also featured a cake-cutting ceremony celebrating veterans’ commitment to their service. Reed, the guest of honor, was given the first piece of the cake.

“The goal is pretty much bringing not only our veterans together, but also to include the entire Columbia community.”

—Azar Boehm, GS and vice president of Military Veterans The second piece was given to the oldest veteran, Michael Taylor, GS, born on May 27, 1964—who started the ball last year. He then passed a piece of cake to the youngest veteran, Ben Robinson, GS, born on April 8, 1988, as per ceremony tradition.

Before Milvets President Dan Lagana, GS, made his toast, Peter Meijer, CC ’12 and the only veteran at Columbia College—said that the number of Milvets chapters in the country increased from 30 to 556 chapters.

Boris Beltinov, GS—who was on activity duty until March 2010 and has been a member of the National Guard ever since— said he was struck by Giordani’s speech, as an “unusual view of a civilian on military people.”

“I did not expect a person outside of the military to understand and appreciate the military as she did,” Beltinov said.

“I think all the speeches encapsulate what we were trying to do,” Lagana said.

“The speeches represented the theme of the event: service and scholarship. It’s symbolic of our integration within the Columbia University.”

Non-veterans said they were moved by the speakers’ emphasis on the role of the military as well.

Elizabeth Satarov, BC ’14, said she met Boehm in a small seminar and their friendship is her first-ever experience interacting with a veteran. The ball was the first time she said she had contemplated what a veteran’s post-war life is like.

“I’ve never been to anything like this before,” Satarov said.

“I’ve never experienced this.”

Casey Bresee, BC ’12, said she discovered the veteran community at GS because her boyfriend is a member of the Marine Corps.

“I met him and a group of his friends my freshman year, so that’s been my introduction to this community and this group of friends,” Bresee said.

Ben Paladino, GS and Milvets treasurer, who served in the Marine Corps for four years before he came to GS, said he appreciated Reed’s emphasis on “bridging the gap between service and society.”

“I think it’s an important part of what the veterans do,” Paladino said. “They can use that experience to have a better understanding of world politics, individual cost of war.”

Meijer, who attended West Point before he transferred to Columbia in the fall of 2007, said he was struck by Giordani’s emphasis on “the way in which Columbia’s academic and military traditions are entirely compatible and mutually beneficial.”

“For what the event is, it’s a celebration but also a renewal of purpose to reflect on the past while keeping an eye on the future,” he said.

Gesel Mason, a choreographer and dancer, who is a friend of Taylor’s, said she was struck by the reading aloud of veterans’ names during the last roll call.

The moment when the crowd remained silent at the reading of a deceased veteran’s name “was a reminder of the service that the vets have given this country, because it is life or death,” Mason said.

For Reed, the event was ultimately about “the quality of the veterans in this room, and those that are currently serving,” noting their willingness to make a difference.

“They wanted to give and continue to serve and for that I am grateful and proud,” he said. madina.toure @columbiaspectator.com

ANA BAUTISTA FOR SPECTATOR

DRESS RIGHT DRESS

|

Azar Boehm, GS and vice president of Columbia Military Veterans, speaks at the ball.

City Council member lets residents play role in budgeting $1M for local improvement projects BUDGETING from front page

CASEY TOLAN FOR SPECTATOR

MONEYBAGS | Cynthia Doty, Democratic district leader, speaks at a meeting introducing the “participatory budgeting” process on Thursday night. Residents will decide how to allocate $1 million.

Over 500 ideas were submitted in District 8, and over the last few months, dozens of volunteer delegates in nine committees narrowed down the list based on the projects’ eligibility and priorities.

Because the ideas are still being vetted by the city, the relevant city agency needs to agree to the project and its cost in order for it to move forward, Taranto said.

The city is looking to fund physical infrastructure projects like renovations and construction, Taranto said, and not management or salary expenses.

“We’re trying to find creative solutions, even for projects that don’t get” the votes, he said.

“Beyond what’s going to win the next election, what this is about is what the community is looking for and how to respond to that.”

One local project proposed was the renovation of the gym at P.S. 163, on 97th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues, which is currently “so warm that indoor activities and instruction are compromised, ventilation is poor, and there are no windows open to the outside,” said Laurie Frey, secretary of Community Education Council District 3. Frey headed the volunteer education committee that narrowed down the proposals.

Carrie Reynolds, P.S. 163 PTA co-president, said that compared to other proposals, the gym “may not seem important, but a lot of kids use it.”

The P.S. 163 gym is also used by a kids’ soccer camp, other summer programs, and even a five-night-a-week adult volleyball league. But it gets so hot, even in the winter, that it’s not used as much as it could be.

A “couple thousand people will be benefited,” Reynolds said. “It’s a great resource for the community.”

Another project is a renovation of the basketball courts at the Booker T. Washington Playground on 107th and 108th streets between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues.

“I’m sure you’ve passed this park many times and seen that this park is somewhere you cannot play basketball,” Kioka Jackson, a member of the parks committee, said.

“We have the opportunity to make decisions in our community, and we don’t have that all the time.”

—Kioka Jackson, Upper West Side resident After it rains, Jackson said, the basketball court is full of puddles—some so big that Jackson called them “swimming pools with no lifeguards.”

Another proposal, from the youth committee, involved the renovation of a stage to provide a safe space to be used for theater and dance classes at the Children’s Aid Society Frederick Douglass Center on Columbus Avenue at 104th Street.

Josh Lerner, director of the Participatory Budgeting Project, one of the lead organizations that brought participatory budgeting to New York, is talking with other City Council members to get them involved with

the project. Mark-Viverito is the only council member representing Manhattan to offer it.

“It takes getting used to, the idea that we tell her to spend money, that we get to decide how to spend it,” Lerner said.

Attendees and delegates were generally excited about the process. Trevor James, who lives on 96th Street, said he liked the “strong utilitarian aspect to it.”

“It’s hard to decide which project to give money to,” James said. He said the projects he was most interested in included a new ultrasound machine and a greenhouse project in a Bronx housing community.

Mark-Viverito’s district stretches from the Upper West Side to East Harlem to the South Bronx.

“There’s not enough consciousness about good eating habits … and this will create that consciousness and broaden the community,” James said.

Lerner said he was pleased with the turnout on Thursday.

“People were excited with their projects,” he said. “I’m confident the vote will be successful.”

Many said they hoped this would not be the last time the city practiced participatory budgeting.

“We’re going to make sure this happens again and again and again so we have more money to work with,” Jackson said. “This is exciting because we have the opportunity to make decisions in our community, and we don’t have that all the time.”

The Upper West Side portion of Mark-Viverito’s district will start voting on the proposals next month at the hostel and continue at her office. All residents of the district over 18 can vote, regardless of immigration or parole status. casey.tolan @columbiaspectator.com

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

NEWS

PAGE 3

During Islam Week, students, profs, analyze stereotypes ISLAM from front page on the American perception of Islam, spoke out against generalizing Muslims.

“I am not him and he is not me,” he said. “He does not represent all of my community.” Ali urged Muslims to “become participants, not spectators.”

Although 63 percent of Americans say they don’t know a Muslim person, according to Ali, Islam has a lower favorability now than it did immediately following 9/11. This has led to an increase in bullying that Ali said has become more sophisticated since he attended high school in the 1980s.

“I am not him and he is not me. He does not represent all of my community.”

—Wajahat Ali, author on the social perception of Islam “The worst thing they ever called me was Ghandi,” Ali said.

Imam Khalid Latif, chaplain for the Islamic Center at New York University, spoke at Thursday’s “Colors of Islam” panel.

Addressing Muslims in the room, he said, “You represent a unique segment of our population. If you all sat down and put your minds together, I’m sure you could get people to understand that the Muslim community is not a hegemonic community.”

Still, there are some within the Muslim community who are uncomfortable with spreading more accurate knowledge about their faith.

When Nourah Alhassoun, a graduate student in SEAS, wears a necklace with a charm of the Qu’ran on it, she often hides it rather than face the inevitable irrationally angry response to it.

She has her doubts, though.

“I get afraid,” she said. “But then I feel this is my religion, why should I hide it?”

MSA Vice President Maliha Tariq, BC ’13, hopes that Islam Awareness Week has been able to fuel discussion and give the campus more information about Islam than the media does. But she recognizes that the effort goes far beyond just holding a week of events.

“It’s going to be hard to get people who should be coming to these kinds of events to come, but we’re hoping that by just holding them we might pique curiosity in people who wouldn’t necessarily come,” Tariq said. bianca.dennis @columbiaspectator.com

LUKE HENDERSON / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

FIVE PILLARS

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Students, professors, and other panelists this week broke down some of the main prejudices facing Muslims.

CCE outreach CUMC study: acquired traits can be inherited without DNA means over

BY HENRY WILLSON system known as RNA interferThe results also suggest that to reach high leaves, and then Spectator Senior Staff Writer ence, or RNAi. They found that evolution is not solely the product passing that acquired stretch on half of ’11 grads worms that acquired immunity of the natural selection of random to their offspring.

Researchers at the Medical to a virus via RNAi passed that genetic mutations, but rather that This vision was found to be employed School have discovered a mech- immunity on to their offspring organisms can also pass on to their entirely unsupported by the eviEMPLOYMENT from front page friends in high places,” he said.

Both O’Brien and Sharma emphasized the role of alumni in the job search process, and their importance to CCE programs.

CCE has implemented a number of new programs to take advantage of Columbia’s alumni pool, including an alumni mock interviewing program, in which alumni conduct practice interviews for students; an externship program for first-years; the Columbia College Alumni-Sponsored Student Internship Program; and an alumni dinner series.

The alumni dinners are “not about showing up and getting a job,” Sharma said.

Instead, attendees learn more personable skills, like the importance of networking and building relationships. “Those are equally as important as the number of jobs there are,” Sharma said.

Around 20 percent of students in 2011 chose to attend graduate school, a rate that has remained basically constant over the past five years.

Similarly, the portion of students choosing to take time off after graduation has remained relatively constant at around 5 percent.

Employment rates for students graduating from the Graduate School of Planning and Preservation, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the School of the Arts, the School of Continuing Education, General Studies, and the Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Science have risen as well.

Administrators noted that CCE also tries to reach out to students who are still seeking employment after graduation.

“We do follow up with students throughout the summer,” Spuler said. “We have counselors send them emails, highlight certain things that are in LionSHARE.” Sharma also said that communication over the summer has increased.

“Traditionally, the summer’s not as busy a time with counseling and advising,” she said, “whereas now, we easily see 100 clients per week over the summer.”

“It’s a lifelong service,” Spuler said. lillian.chen @columbiaspectator.com

anism whereby organisms can acquire traits and pass them to their INSIDE offspring—without RESEARCH using any DNA. The results suggest that the classical Mendelian genetic theory may not provide a complete picture of how traits are inherited and have researchers reconsidering parts of the long-discredited evolutionary theory of Lamarckism.

“I think it is a very exciting result,” biology professor and Nobel laureate Martin Chalfie said.

Postdoctoral research scientist and lead author Oded Rechavi and his colleagues, Oliver Hobert and Gregory Minevich, studied the C. elegans roundworm species. The worms defend themselves against viruses using a

for up to 100 generations—even when the researchers removed the genetic code for the RNAi system from those offspring.

The offspring did not receive the immunity via a change in their genomes, but rather through the transmission of small RNA molecules, known as virus-interferent RNAs, from parent cells to offspring.

“In this case, the effect segregates independently of DNA and the chromosome … The small RNAs are being inherited even when the DNA sequence that they affect, that is the template of them, is not even there,” Rechavi said.

The type of inheritance the researchers describe moves beyond the traditional Mendelian view of heredity, in which organisms’ traits are only transmitted through the generations as DNA sequences on chromosomes.

offspring traits acquired as direct adaptations to their environments.

“People classically like to think of evolution according to Darwin as being random, which means that mutations accumulate in the DNA of the organism in a random way, and the organism that happens to have by complete accident, by chance, a mutation that makes it more fit, gets to produce progeny, and later these progeny take over the population,” Rechavi said.

By contrast, Rechavi said, “in this case, a direct encounter with a challenge from the environment— the challenge being a viral infection—affects the inheritance in a directed way.”

This view of evolution was famously advanced by 18th-century biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.

In a classic example, he suggested that giraffes developed their characteristic long necks by stretching

dence, and was supplanted by Darwin’s and Mendel’s work.

The CUMC study joins a growing pool of evidence that documents the inheritance of acquired traits in organisms—from roundworms to humans—under much more limited circumstances.

According to Chalfie, the new results, published last December in the scientific journal Cell, are noteworthy because they demonstrate this kind of inheritance across many generations and lay a foundation for understanding a mechanism behind it.

“What is very nice about the paper is that they have been able to give a very clear-cut example of effects that are lasting through several generations,” he said.

“They have found a very interesting phenomenon,” he added. “This is something that opens the door to a lot more

experimentation.”

The debates surrounding inheritance of acquired traits remain contentious. Rechavi is keen to emphasize the continuity of the new results with existing biology, and Chalfie pointed out that “it’s not a result that proves Lamarckism in all of its various guises.”

“It’s very, very important to emphasize that whatever we are showing blends into the normal mechanisms of genetics that we know,” Rechavi said.

Most of the time, he said, evolution progresses according to classic Darwinian natural selection.

“This is sort of an additive effect … to add on to the known mechanisms of Mendelian inheritance.”

But he added that “these sorts of additions are very, very important, because although we have the genomic sequence of humans and other organisms, we are still struggling to really find the pattern of inheritance of certain diseases.” henry.willson @columbiaspectator.com

Med center campus on track to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2025 ENERGY from front page management, they were complaining because the building heat doesn’t come with a thermostat,” Wang said. This forced students to open the window when the heat was running too high and waste energy. “It reveals a lot of inefficiency,” she said.

“Students up here care a great deal about energy conservation and the green initiative.”

—Mi Wang, GSAS and University Senator

In 2010, CUMC put together three different teams to conduct an investigation of their buildings and campus sustainability.

Futrell said that the administration was motivated not only by these complaints but also by the PLANYC 2030 initiative, the citywide mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has specifically challenged hospitals and universities to meet this goal by 2017.

The research teams are assessing purchasing strategies, energy audits, and retrofitting options, allowing CUMC to craft a plan with an overall carbon

reduction goal of 17,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2025.

“The CUMC energy plan was developed as a comprehensive roadmap to meet this goal. It should make a substantial impact on reducing the University’s carbon footprint as it is implemented,” Nilda Mesa, assistant vice president of Environmental Stewardship, said in a statement.

Despite these initial advancements, Futrell acknowledged that the real improvements in efficiency will not be seen for a few years. “You don’t really save energy until these projects are complete,” she said, “but now they are showing us the reductions that we need to get, which is really exciting.”

Wang believes that these changes will not only improve energy efficiency, but are also improving students’ lives “in a very significant way.”

“Students up here care a great deal about energy conservation and the green initiative,” she said.

Robert Song, the University Senator for the College of Physicians and Surgeons, agreed.

Most students at the uptown campus “are in favor of making sure that our facilities maintaining energy efficiency,” Song said in an email. “Obviously, as students who pay tuition and utilities expenses every year, we’re also interested in making sure that costs are minimized whenever possible.” varun.char @columbiaspectator.com

GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION 6,800 TONS

Phase I: 2011-2014 Accomplishes the most economical projects with the fastest return on investments.

Phase II: 2015 –2017 Accomplishes other projects that may not have as fast a return on investments.

10,000 TONS

1,500 TONS

1,700 TONS

PHASE III-B

PHASE II

(2015-2017)

(2015-2017)

ELECTRIC SAVINGS

PHASE I

TOTAL

(2011-2014)

(2011-2017)

10 MILLION 7.5 MILLION

Phase III-B: 2015 –2017 Implements other projects that were conceived of during Phase I.

0.9 MILLION

PHASE III-B

(2015-2017)

1.6 MILLION

PHASE II

(2015-2017)

PHASE I

TOTAL

(2011-2014)

(2011-2017)

DATA: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER / GRAPHIC BY SINJIHN SMITH

EDITORIAL & OPINION

PAGE 4

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T

he job of a columnist isn’t all fun and games. Oh sure, the 401(k) is pretty good. And the complimentary rickshaw service to class is a nice perk. But there are some definite peculiarities that come with this line of work. There’s the actual business of writing the column, for one thing.

JEREMY My process involves tantric yoga, Fresca, LISS and massive amounts of sleep deprivation.

Liss is The groupies are also overwhelming at times. Suddenly, you can’t introduce yourMo re self in a seminar without people vaguely recognizing your name.

“Wait a minute … Aren’t you the guy with the weird skin disease?”

“No, that guy transferred to Cornell. You write those columns that are supposed to be funny, right?”

As awkward as these experiences might be, I still enjoy them. It’s flattering when someone compliments your work, even if that someone is lying through their teeth.

More importantly, though, this column represents the only writing I compose that multiple people read.

My situation is hardly unique. A day rarely goes by without someone firing off a text message, an email, or an angsty poem about how hard it is to be a college student.

But these missives are intimate and brief, without craft and without public platform.

Even essays we spend weeks researching and drafting don’t get the attention we expect. As a first-year, I imagined my professors poring over my every word, consumed by my brilliant ideas. They’d read my paper on the subway, discuss it over dinner, lie in bed mulling it over at night. The reality, though, is probably much less glamorous. I recently saw a professor grading papers in the laundry room of Schapiro Hall. With one hand, he scribbled quick notes in red ink. With the other, he tossed dirty underwear into the washing machine.

True, student writing is pretty awful. I recommend unearthing an old essay and checking off every time you use words like “quintessential,” “quotidian,” and “hermeneutical castration.” But then again, academic writing is probably worse. Judith Butler, the famed feminist and philosopher, is renowned for winning first prize in a “Bad Writing Competition.” I’ll spare you the quotation, but believe me when I say that the 94-word-long sentence is as difficult to read aloud as it is to comprehend. The example set by people like her is probably the reason why it took four semesters for a professor to tell me that I couldn’t write my way out of a parking ticket.

The irony is that in spite of all the lousy writing out there, it’s never been easier to find an audience. Blogs and social media allow us to send our thoughts out to the farther reaches of the Internet. Of course, tweets like “I just dropped a major deuce” aren’t exactly high literature.

If it seems like I’m pointing the finger, know that I’m not using the middle one. There are still some good guys out there. One of my favorite professors likes to say, “Don’t write anything you wouldn’t say.” Out goes the jargon. Out goes the clutter. And out goes that terrible pun about the lion and the giraffe.

By the same token, there are still organizations on campus like the Spectator, who willingly publish student writing. Take advantage of it while you can. Perhaps you can even be like me, a real celebrity. Between family members, Facebook friends, and creepy local stalkers, my readers number in the tens.

Jeremy Liss is Columbia College junior majoring in English.

He is the creative editor of The Current. Liss is More runs alternate Fridays.

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

Teaching and research at Columbia

BY CARLOS ALONSO Reading some of the articles, opinion pieces, and public interventions that have commented on the status of Columbia College since the events of last summer, I have noted the consistent mobilization of a dichotomy that refers to a supposed rift between the teaching and research activities of Columbia’s faculty.

One such article, for instance, referred to the Policy and Planning Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as composed of “nine research faculty,” which obscures the fact that all nine members of the PPC—just like all faculty members at the University—have substantial teaching responsibilities that include undergraduate courses. In fact, the typical teaching load of most faculty members at Columbia is one graduate seminar and three undergraduate courses, and even if that ratio may vary in any given department, no faculty member currently has an appointment at Columbia that does not involve undergraduate teaching or advising. For example, although I am currently dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, I served for four years as director of undergraduate studies of my department and for three years as director of undergraduate studies at the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, all while teaching both graduate and undergraduate courses. What, then, gives rise to and sustains the stubborn teaching-research, undergraduate-graduate dichotomy among some students, faculty, and alumni at Columbia?

To be fair, there is a historical dimension to this impression.

There was a time when Columbia College and the Graduate Faculties (as they were once called) hired separate faculty and essentially lived parallel lives. It is almost predictable that in a situation in which the teaching and the research functions of the University were divorced, teaching would have acquired second-class status. Hence, it is understandable that until 20 years ago or so, a graduate of Columbia College would have felt that the undergraduate dimension of the University was not being given its due.

But I would argue that the current perception that the opposition is still with us arises from the evident fact that not all members of the faculty are involved in teaching the courses that constitute the Core Curriculum, which leads students and alumni to think that those faculty must care more about their research, because if they cared about the Core they would be teaching a class in it. This way of thinking eludes one extremely important reality: Columbia College is not just the Core Curriculum. Columbia College is the Core, of course, but is also the undergraduate majors that round out and complete the intellectual formation of our students. Departments need some of their faculty to teach the courses that constitute the major and concentration requirements, and are constantly weighing those needs alongside the demands of the Core for instructors to mount its courses. Therefore—and this is important to underscore—teaching in the Core is not losing out to research, if at all, but to other teaching needs that are as important both to students and to departments.

Columbia paid dearly in the past for the imbalance that it allowed to take hold between its teaching and research enterprises, for the reputation of a modern university is based simultaneously and inextricably on the strength of both its undergraduate and graduate components. Any administration that would sacrifice one to the other, or that would favor one over the other, would be judged a failure. The annual US News & World Report undergraduate rankings are complemented and amplified by the decennial National Research Council Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs. Great universities and their administrations must be mindful of both kinds of standings.

But precisely because both dimensions have to be advanced simultaneously, there has to be coordination and mobilization

After Office Hours

Each Friday, a professor will share scholastic wisdom readers won’t find in lectures. Suggestions regarding which professors to feature are welcome.

of resources in a way that allows for the pursuit of quality on all fronts at once. Such a context requires a centralized deliberative structure of faculty and administrators that can harness the resources of all the schools and distribute them in a manner that ensures that they are, in the aggregate, supporting all academic functions adequately.

Through the creation of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in 1991, Columbia attempted precisely to close the chasm between its two fundamental enterprises of teaching and research. Since that time, a large investment of resources has been made in Columbia College, which, combined with the considerable contributions and engagement of Columbia College’s alumni, have helped turn Columbia College into the strong and ultra-competitive entity that it is today. But the guarantee that Columbia College will continue to be a signal constituent of Columbia’s reputation does not lie in demanding that Columbia College become or remain autonomous from the rest of Arts and Sciences or the University. The demand that every dollar that Columbia College collects on endowment returns, tuition, or gifts be invested in Columbia College—instead of being used even partially to finance the “research” component of the University—is pernicious for a number of reasons. First, it keeps alive the anachronistic, zero-sum dichotomy that sees the two enterprises of the University as divorced from one another. Second, the college simply would not be able to survive financially without the significant help that it currently receives from other sources of income in the Arts and Sciences: The revenue produced by master’s programs, the School of Continuing Education, the School of General Studies, the Arts and Sciences endowment, etc. Columbia College has never been a self-sustaining island financially and it never will be—but most importantly, neither are the other schools which are subsumed under Arts and Sciences.

There was a time when Columbia College and the Graduate Faculties (as they were once called) hired separate faculty and essentially lived parallel lives.

The ultimate reality is that we are all dependent on one another to thrive, and fostering fantasies of untrammeled autonomy distorts that interdependent reality. When Columbia hires a world-renowned historian from another institution, the history major is strengthened, the department’s professional standing is raised, and the University’s reputation overall is enhanced. This faculty member may not teach in the Core necessarily, but characterizing such a hire as signaling a lack of commitment to undergraduate education obviates the many other ways in which it enhances the undergraduate environment.

A university must balance competing interests, recognizing that if any of those interests wither, the entire institution is weakened. This knowledge of the mutual imbrication of all of the University’s components—perhaps especially including those that are most unfamiliar to us—should be the guiding principle for all of Columbia’s constituencies.

Our individual experience and time at this university may be limited to a school or a department, yet we must train ourselves to transcend our circumscribed personal experience of the institution if we are to be its strongest stewards and supporters.

The author is the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the Morris A. and Alma Schapiro Professor in the Humanities.

STAFF EDITORIAL

You know it when you hear it

“B

arnard to bed, Columbia to wed.”

“Barnard: backdoor to Columbia.”

We’ve heard it before. We’ve laughed at it. Some of us may have even said it. These are just two of many jokes that get circulated at NSOP and at parties, that put down Barnard women. It has become a Columbia tradition, in a manner of speaking, to pass down these kinds of jokes to the next generation of students.

When two institutions are located near each other, it may seem almost natural that tensions arise. After all, we often hear Columbia students call NYU “the school downtown,” or Princeton our ultimate rival. But the case with Columbia and Barnard is entirely different. With our schools across the street, and our students interacting on a daily basis, it is essential that we confront tensions. Even if such tensions are natural, that doesn’t mean that they’re right, or that we should take them for granted.

So many students recognize crude stereotypes of Barnard women in the first place, and it shows the jokes have become an ingrained component of the ColumbiaBarnard relationship, but it’s shameful that people make these quips in the first place. Barnard has existed since 1889, well before Columbia went coed in 1982—that is, before the idea that Barnard was simply an appendage of Columbia began to take hold. More simply, though, we should not perpetuate a culture that derives humor from putting down our peers.

The first step to addressing a problem is to acknowledge it for what it is: a problem. Many students already condemn this sort of disrespect, but many more of us need to start doing it publicly. That doesn’t just mean not repeating the insults—it also includes not being the onlooker when someone else makes them. Doing nothing and allowing “a joke” to go by is just as bad as saying it in the first place.

It’s also important to realize that avoiding the symptoms of this antagonism ignores exploring something more important: the root of the antagonism. We can try to better integrate students in the two institutions, but that may not address the underlying misogyny and elitism behind these jokes.

A shift in culture is the only way to solve anything at all—specifically, a shift toward a culture of real mutual respect. One single discussion will not put an end to every Barnard joke—but that means starting an ongoing discussion on perceptions, on attitudes, and on the way we treat each other is the one of the few things that will. Most importantly, every one of us needs to avoid being a bystander when we hear these jokes, and every one of us must say that this is no space for them. Then we can hope for our culture to change.

heidi keller The Columbia Daily Spectator accepts op-eds on any topic relevant to the Columbia University and Morningside Heights community. Op-eds should be roughly 650 words in length. We require that op-eds be sent exclusively to Spectator and will not consider articles that have already been published elsewhere.

Letters to the Editor should be no longer than 350 words and must refer to an article from Spectator or The Eye, or a Spectrum post. Submissions should be sent to opinion@columbiaspectator.com. Please paste all submissions into the body of the email. Should we decide to publish your submission we will contact you via email.

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

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GAMEDAY

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

Lions seek first Ivy win in home games with Princeton and Penn

BY HAHN CHANG Spectator Staff Writer Last weekend, the Lions were one missed layup away from beating the Bears in regulation.

“Against Brown, it was just one more play to win,” Columbia women’s basketball head coach Paul Nixon said.

As Columbia (2-19, 0-7 Ivy) starts its final homestretch of the 2011-2012 season, the Lions look to rebound from a string of heartbreaking losses to Ivy League opponents.

The Lions will start on Friday night by facing the Ivy League’s top team, Princeton. In their last matchup at Princeton, the Tigers decimated the Lions 94-35.

“This is a game our team looks forward to. It might sound crazy, given the result of the last matchup, but we are excited to show how well we will play this time,” Nixon said. “I think Friday will be very good opportunity for us to measure how much progress we have made.”

The Lions will be up against the Tigers (17-4, 7-0 Ivy), who have yet to lose an Ivy League game this season. In the previous matchup between the two teams, the Tigers had a torrid offensive performance in part due to star forward Niveen Rasheed, who scored 21 points in 19 minutes. Even with the 59-point margin of defeat for the Lions, the Light Blue feels confident it will make Friday’s match more competitive without drastically changing its game plan.

“We virtually guarantee that Princeton will not see the same defense as last time.

It did not work at all,” Nixon said. “There

is not a secret play, we are not going to run an Amoeba defense. We are not going to do any of that kind of thing.”

The Lions will play the second of a four-game homestretch against the Quakers (9-12, 2-5 Ivy). While the Quakers defeated the Lions in their first meeting 75-50, they have struggled since in conference play, dropping four of their last five games.

Even though the Lions limited last year’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Alyssa Baron, to only 13 points in the last matchup between Columbia and Penn, the rest of the Quakers shot 46.6 percent from the floor and 47.6 percent from behind the arc.

“We can’t go into the game against Penn thinking we need to shut Baron down. We kept her in check last game, and it didn’t help us,” Nixon said. “As far as Penn goes, the rest of the team killed us. They shot lights out, all of them. Everyone for Penn was clicking that night.”

The Lions have played competitively with other Ivy League opponents, but have yet to find their first Ivy victory.

With only seven games left in the season, the Lions will have to step up to avoid being shut out in Ivy play.

Nixon recognizes that it’s now or never for the Lions.

“We need to recognize that we are to the point where we can only continue to measure progress without winning for so long. And we are now to the point that progress has to be made. We have to put W’s on the board. Coming close, it’s not going to be good enough anymore,” he said.

Levien and small Ivy gyms give the right atmosphere for Ancient Eight CLEARY from back page soon. For the four other Ivy teams with small gyms, though, size works to their advantage.

Take our very own Levien Gymnasium for example. On Saturday night against Yale, it was nearly filled to capacity and the atmosphere was electric. While the crowd wasn’t tiny by any means, it would have seemed much smaller if Columbia played in a gym like The Palestra. (Unfortunately for the 2,442 people in attendance, the game didn’t go so well. ) I won’t say anything about the

actually facilities in Dodge, but the size of Levien is a perfect fit for Columbia.

Sure, it’s not the prettiest gym, and you have to walk past a bunch of dumpsters to get inside, but once you’re there, it’s not a terrible place to watch a basketball game. So while I’m beyond excited to see The Palestra this Saturday, I don’t wish that the Lions played there.

Levien may not be a cathedral, but it works for Columbia.

Michele Cleary is a Columbia College senior majoring in history. She is a former Spectator managing editor. sports@columbiaspectator.com

ALYSON GOULDEN / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

TRIPLE THREAT | Columbia sophomore guard Meiko Lyles leads Columbia in three-pointers so far this season.

Light Blue hopes for revenge against Princeton, Penn MEN’S BBALL from back page “He’s a killer, a kind of physical beast,” Smith said. “If you’re not ready for the fight, he’ll take your heart. He’s kind of a battering ram.”

The Tigers are coming off back-toback wins last weekend, including a 70-62 upset of then-No. 21 Harvard on Saturday. That momentum, combined with Columbia’s late second-half collapse Saturday against Yale, could be a dangerous combination for the Lions.

“Their confidence should be good,” Smith said. “But you know, you might think we’re going to be going in there with our heads down, but we have to make sure we don’t do that or else we’ll get popped.”

Against Penn, senior guard Zack Rosen—second in the league in scoring with 18.0 points per game and first in the

MEN’S SQUASH from back page lost 5-4 to the Light Blue earlier in the season. But at Nationals, the Lions were unable to duplicate the win, falling 6-3 to the Pioneers.

In this year’s first round against Navy, the Lions will be looking for revenge against the Midshipmen,

Columbia women head to ECAC tournament to face top competition Princeton, and Boston College rounding out the top half of the bracket.

The latter three are ranked 43rd, 51st, and 55th in the country, respectively, and fifth-seeded Dartmouth is 58th.

The Lions fall outside the top-75 and sit at the seventh seed.

Each team will play three matches. Columbia opens Friday morning versus Brown. If the Light Blue wins, it will face the winner of the Princeton-Cornell match. Last year,

Columbia was seeded seventh and finished in sixth place. It dropped its opener to two-seed Yale, 6-1, before beating sixth-seeded Cornell 4-3 and falling to fourth seed Dartmouth 4-2. Then-sophomore Nicole Bartnik, playing in the No. 1 spot, won all three of her matches. With only two seniors from last year having graduated, and four freshmen having been added, the Lions hope for a better result.

—Muneeb Alam

MEN’S TENNIS

CU looks to topple Ivy League foes in ECAC tournament this weekend The Lions will head to Hanover, N.H., this weekend for the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division I Indoor Men’s Tennis Championships. All of the Ivies except Penn will be competing in the eight-team field, which also features St. John’s. The Light Blue,

which is still undefeated this year with a perfect 4-0 record, is coming off of a 7-0 sweep of Marist last Saturday. Columbia has earned the seventh seed in the tournament, and as such, its first matchup will be on Friday at 11 a.m. against second-seed Cornell. If the Lions defeat the Big

Red, they will play Saturday at 3 p.m. against the winner of the HarvardYale match. Otherwise, the Light Blue will take on the loser of the Crimson-Bulldogs match at 8 a.m. on Saturday. The championship match will be played at 2:30 p.m on Sunday.

—Eli Schultz

WRESTLING

Light Blue to host Bears, Crimson, The Pride to wrap up season Columbia will host three opponents at University Gymnasium this weekend to mark the close of the Ivy season. The Lions (6-4, 1-2 Ivy) take on Brown (9-10, 2-2 Ivy) at 1 p.m. on Saturday to kick off the weekend. A week ago, the Bears went 3-1 in four matches, including a big win over conference rival Harvard. But Brown finished the weekend on a sour note, suffering a 35-3 loss to No. 15 Lehigh.

The Light Blue will have very

little time for rest before facing the Crimson at 3 p.m. Though Harvard has lost three straight since defeating Penn (7-6, 2-2 Ivy) on Feb. 4, it boasts two nationally-ranked wrestlers. At 157 pounds, No. 7 junior Walter Peppelman will pose a significant challenge for Lions’ junior Jake O’Hara. Columbia senior Kyle Gilchrist will take on No. 12 Steven Keith. The Light Blue’s final dual match of the season will be against No. 24 Hofstra (10-3) on Sunday at 1

p.m. The Pride is suffering a threematch skid after winning its first 10 matches of the season. Like Harvard, Hofstra also features two nationallyranked wrestlers in No. 19 senior P.J. Gillespie at 165 pounds and No. 14 junior Steve Bonnano at 125 pounds.

During Sunday’s match, the Lions will take the opportunity to honor the team’s five seniors—Gilchrist, Eren Civan, Kevin Lester, Shane Strumwasser, and Jonathan Weibel.

—Eli Schultz

ARCHERY

Following strong performance in Connecticut, Lions head to Queens The Light Blue has a lot at stake this season in defending its 2011 National Championship title.

At the team’s last competition in Connecticut, Columbia performed well—many members of the team were denied victories by the performances of other Lions. Senior Sarah Chai and freshman Sarah Bernstein

both won top honors in their respective recurve divisions. Chai’s victory came at the price of a loss for her three teammates, sophomore Sara Lavenhar, and seniors Aaqilah Chambers and Kate Cwynar. Chai shot 546, while her fellow Lions shot 495, 480, and 289 respectively.

Bernstein’s win also cost a fellow

and we’re in that situation again—with a chance to win—that’d be great.”

The Lions will start with sophomore guard Meiko Lyles on Rosen and likely use a number of other backcourt players to contain the Quakers’ star, according to Smith.

For the Lions, junior co-captain and point guard Brian Barbour leads the way with 15.3 points per game while Cisco contributes 10.0 points per game and a team-high 7.3 boards. Lyles adds an outside threat to the Light Blue offense, scoring 10.4 points per game and shooting 43.6 percent from beyond the arc. All three will be needed this weekend for the Lions to pull off two wins and reach .500 record in conference play.

Tipoffs are scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. in Princeton, N.J. and Saturday at 7 p.m. in Philadelphia, Pa.

Light Blue faces competitive field in national’s B division

WOMEN’S TENNIS

The women’s tennis team faces its stiffest challenge yet as it looks to extend its three-match winning streak in New Haven, Conn. this weekend during the Eastern College Athletic Conference Indoor Women’s Tennis Championships. The eight-team field is comprised of Boston College, Fairleigh Dickinson, and all the Ivies except for Harvard and Penn. The hosts and defending champions, No. 25 Yale, are the top seed, with Brown,

conference with 5.8 assists—will be the focus for Columbia defensively.

“With Rosen, you’ve got to throw the kitchen sink at him,” Smith said. “You can’t let him know what’s coming. He’s too smart, I swear he’s trying to read the other coach’s mind. He’ll be a coach, I’d be shocked if he’s not after he plays—he’ll play professionally.”

Rosen was quiet for much of the Lions’ 66-64 loss to the Quakers on Jan. 13, but he came through in the clutch for Penn with two key jumpers in the last two minutes and eight points in the last eight minutes to secure the victory.

“He didn’t really hit the gas until late,” Smith said. “I think we’ll probably give him a little different taste, just to try and throw him off his rhythm. But late in the game you know it’s going to be in his hands. But if we’re on their court,

teammate, freshman Grace Kim, a loss. Bernstein shot 500 while Kim shot a 475. Meanwhile, sophomore Mary Quien won the compound division. This Saturday, the Columbia archers will continue their spring season in Queens, with the first arrow scheduled to shoot at 12:30 p.m.

—Alison Macke

who dominated the Light Blue 7-2 in January when the two teams faced off.

Columbia has already played all the teams in the B Division during its regular season, and the Lions hope to step up their level of play to that of their opponents.

“It will be a good experience,” junior co-captain Tony Zou said. “Tough

Hummer adds three-point threat to offensive rep OPPONENT PROFILE from back page Kyle Smith said.

However, Hummer has developed a new move to complement his already impressive inside game. In his first two years playing for the Tigers, Hummer attempted no three-point shots. This year, Hummer has gone 15-48 from beyond the arc, putting up a respectable 31.3 field goal percentage for the season. While his newfound sharpshooting has not and will not replace his inside game, it offers an extra layer of stress for the Lions in Friday’s game.

“Any time you can add something to your array of moves and skills is always a plus.”

—Ian Hummer, Princeton forward “Any time you can add something to your array of moves and skills is always a plus. Adding a three-pointer this season has opened up a lot of other things,” Hummer said. “It has opened up driving lanes as well as passing lanes. This has made it easier for me to score and get my teammates involved.”

The Tigers will hope that Hummer’s game opens up more so that he can improve on his 11-point performance in their first matchup against the Lions this season.

“I think the biggest thing that I need to improve is the amount of personal fouls.

In our first game against [Columbia] this season, fouls limited my play and I had a hard time getting into the flow of the game,” Hummer said.

Hummer has shown that he can play against national-caliber talent, and as the Lions look to win their rematch against the Tigers, Hummer will present a unique challenge for the Light Blue.

“You can try to wipe out the rest of the team, but then he’ll get 40 points,” Smith said.

matches toughen us up. We have been playing in the higher level. I believe Ivy is the highest level for squash and I think it’s time for us to play on that level.”

Friday’s match will begin at 1:30 p.m., and a win would send the Lions into the tournament’s semifinals on Saturday.

the slate men’s basketball at Princeton Princeton, N.J. Friday, 7 p.m.

men’s basketball at Penn Philadelphia, Penn.

Saturday, 7 p.m.

women’s basketball vs. Princeton Levien Gymnasium Friday, 7 p.m.

women’s basketball vs. Penn Levien Gymnasium Saturday, 7 p.m.

wrestling

vs. Brown, Harvard, Hofstra University Gymnasium Feb 18, Feb 19

women’s tennis

ECAC Team Tournament New Haven, Conn.

Feb 17-Feb 19

men’s tennis

ECAC Team Championships Hanover, N.H. Friday, 2 p.m.

men’s squash

CSA National Championships Princeton, N.J. February 17-19

women’s squash

Individual Nationa Championships Hanover, N.H. March 4–6

archery

New York State Indoor Championship Queens, N.Y. Feb. 17­–18

FRIDAY FAST BREAK

PIXBOX

5

week

#

1:

Columbia at Penn (-7.5)

2:

Cornell at Princeton (-7.5)

3:

Yale at Harvard (-12.5)

4:

Brown at Dartmouth (-1.5)

5:

Ohio State at Michigan (+2.5)

6:

STARTING LINEUPS

GAME 1:

meiko lyles #22/g

AT Roar Lion

Don’t look now, but this Linderella story is winning Pixbox.

Big Rojo Bullperros Big Verde

Zach Glubiak

Go Azul Lincoming

(15-9)

Lions Wrobo

You’re going down, Z-Bunny.

Yale Big Green

Michele Cleary

Rebeka Linchanted

(14-10)

Columbia Princeton Harvard

Lin > Tebow

Brown

Tom Caruso

Ohio State Knicks

(12-12)

I wish my favourite cellar-dweller a very warm goodbye.

Roar-ee Princeton Yale Brown

Mrinal Mohanka

Buckeyes Lintense

(12-12)

Columbia Cornell

Michigan sucks!

Yale

Myles Simmons (12-12)

Dartmouth O-H, I-O Linsanity

brian barbour #10/g

john daniels #15/g

Dallas Pagels at New York Lins (+4.5)

t.j. bray #05/g patrick saunders #22/f

ian hummer #34/f

mark cisco #55/c douglas davis #20/g

brendan connolly #44/c

alex rosenberg #13/g

KEYS TO THE GAME

1 2

3

BY THE NUMBERS POINTS PER GAME

64.8 64.2

COLUMBIA

Keep shooting Last weekend, the Lions had mixed results, but one area they certainly improved in was shooting, hitting more than 50 percent of their field goal attempts.

Success against Princeton will require Columbia to continue its current shooting trend, especially from beyond the arc.

REBOUNDS PER GAME

PRINCETON

POINTS ALLOWED

35.5 33.9

COLUMBIA PRINCETON

FIELD GOAL PCT.

59.3 61.9

COLUMBIA PRINCETON

.426 .435

COLUMBIA PRINCETON

KEY MATCHUPS

Be physical The Tigers boast powerful, big men, notably junior forward Ian Hummer. If the Lions come out aggressive and physical early, they can bother the frontcourt before it develops a rhythm. This will be especially important as the Tigers will enter the game with strong momentum having defeated Harvard last weekend.

Finish strong The last time the Lions played Princeton, they came heartbreakingly close to pulling off a last-minute comeback. This time around, the Light Blue must make sure to finish the second half strong to prevent another Yalelike debacle. That requires taking advantage of scoring opportunities, especially late in the game.

Columbia

Mark Cisco

John Daniels

Mack Darrow

Ian Hummer Junior forward Ian Hummer is Princeton’s leading scorer with 16.7 points per game. Earlier this season, junior forward John Daniels, with help from the bench, limited Hummer to just 11 points.

But Hummer will come out strong on Friday, and Daniels will need to play physically to keep the Tigers’ offensive star in check once again.

Junior forward Mack Darrow started against the Lions when the Tigers came to Levien earlier this year, but he’ll likely be a substitute on Friday.

Regardless, Darrow’s outside shooting and size will be a threat. Junior center Mark Cisco will need to take away Darrow’s inside looks, but Cisco will need help in stopping Darrow’s shots from three range.

Princeton

Mavs suck.

Harvard Dartmouth

Benjamin Spener

Michigan New York Lins

(12-12)

Lions

STARTING LINEUPS

GAME 2:

meiko lyles #22/g

Crimson

Ryan Young (12-12)

Spec Sports goes hipster: We knew Jeremy Lin before he was cool.

Rebeka

Big Red Bears

Victoria Jones

Buckeyes Knicks

(11-13)

LIN Green

LINnovative pix for your LINertainment

MichigLIN Sucks MSGardLIN

SUNY Ithaca Yale Dartmouth?

Wolverines

Sam Klug

(10-14)

Come on Lions Tigers Bulldogs Green Tommy Mac

Get your Youngy’s Hats on

Bibby Time

Penn

Linsanity meets reality (i.e. the champs)

miles cartwright #00/g

Crimson

Dirk

(10-14)

rob belcore #34/f

alex rosenberg #13/f

Lions

Ronnie Shaban

henry brooks #03/f

zack rosen #01/g

Lions

CrimsLIN

I even have a worse record than the Knicks now :(

mark cisco #55/c

Linvincible

PrinceLIN

(11-13)

AT

RIP Kid

First win

CoLINbia

Michael Shapiro

brian barbour #10/g

john daniels #15/f

Tigers

tyler bernardini #04/g

Princeton Yale Brown Ohio State Champs

Jim Pagels (9-15)

KEYS TO THE GAME

1 2

3

“The kitchen sink...”

Head coach Kyle Smith said that the Lions will need to throw the kitchen sink at Zack Rosen, which sums up the key to the Lions’ success. If they can stop Rosen from getting separation and stretching the Columbia defense, the Light Blue will take away a huge part of Penn’s offense.

The Palestra On the road, the Lions have performed very well. But Saturday’s match will be a different beast as Columbia will play in the famed The Palestra. The gym—which seats more than 8,000—will be filled with loud Penn supporters, but the Lions cannot let the atmosphere and reputation of The Palestra affect their game.

Control the boards Penn’s focus is its quick, skilled backcourt, and as a result, the Quakers are poor on the boards.

The Lions can control the pace of the game if they crash the boards on both ends of the court. The Light Blue has a size advantage that it must exploit against Penn to get second chance points and keep possession.

BY THE NUMBERS POINTS PER GAME COLUMBIA PENN

REBOUNDS PER GAME

64.8 66.6

POINTS ALLOWED COLUMBIA PENN

35.5 31.2

COLUMBIA PENN

FIELD GOAL PCT.

59.3 66.5

COLUMBIA PENN

.426 .440

KEY MATCHUPS Brian Barbour Miles Cartwright Penn features three quick guards in its backcourt, and sophomore guard Miles Cartwright is one of them. His 16 points last time Penn met the Lions proved he is a threat from the perimeter. Barbour will need to keep up with Cartwright defensively, but more importantly, Barbour has to drive to the hoop and make Cartwright work on defense.

Meiko Lyles Zack Rosen Senior guard Zack Rosen is Penn’s biggest offensive threat, averaging 18.0 points per game. Sophomore guard Meiko Lyles will start against Rosen, but Lyles will likely need help from others in the Light Blue backcourt to contain Rosen. Lyles must also make his presence felt on the offensive end, especially from beyond the arc.

GAMEDAY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17 • PAGE 8

COLUMBIA (14-10, 3-5 Ivy) at PRINCETON (13-10, 4-3 Ivy)

COLUMBIA (14-10, 3-5 Ivy) at PENN (13-11, 5-2 Ivy)

FRIDAY, 7 p.m., PRINCETON, N.J.

SATURDAY, 7 p.m., PHILADELPHIA, PENN. RADIO: WKCR 89.9 FM, WWDJ 970 AM SPECTRUM.COLUMBIASPECTATOR.COM

RADIO: WKCR 89.9 FM, WWDJ 970 AM SPECTRUM.COLUMBIASPECTATOR.COM

At Jadwin, Palestra, CU seeks two road wins

Smaller venues are a better fit for Ivy teams

T

his Saturday, I get to cross something off my bucket list. I finally (finally!) get to cover a men’s basketball game at The Palestra. For MICHELE some reason, I’ve had CLEARY an unbreakable comI Can mitment the night of the Penn game for the Se e past two years. But Cleary this year, at last, I get to sit on press row Now at the Cathedral of College Basketball.

For those of you who don’t understand why I’m so excited, here are some facts pulled from Wikipedia.

Built in 1927, The Palestra has hosted more men’s NCAA basketball games and more NCAA tournaments than any other venue. In 2007, ESPN Classic ran a documentary titled “The Palestra: Cathedral of Basketball.” When it was originally constructed, it seated 10,000 people, but now it seats 8,722 for basketball.

Having never been there, I can’t speak to the atmosphere, but I imagine it’s pretty intense. While Penn hasn’t filled all of the seats for any of its three Ivy home games so far, they’ve gotten pretty close. On a Tuesday night, the Quakers’ Ivy home opener against Princeton drew a crowd of 6,835.

On a Tuesday! When Penn played nationally-ranked Harvard, 7,462 fans poured into The Palestra to watch. The Palestra is known for letting fans get right up to the edge of the court—the environment must be pretty intimidating for visiting teams.

Ivy basketball matchups can sometimes feel like middle school pick-up games.

The Lions should be used to playing in a hostile atmosphere, though. They opened their season at UConn in front of a crowd of over 10,000 people. But it isn’t just the reigning national champions that have a powerful fan base—the atmosphere at several Ivy gyms can be very intense. When the Light Blue traveled to Ithaca, N.Y. to play Cornell, the student section was completely packed.

(To be fair, it was free jersey night—apparently getting free crap motivates students at state schools to attend games, too. BOOM.) Harvard’s Lavietes Pavillion seats only 2,195, but that just means that the gym is packed for every game. In fact, besides The Palestra and Princeton’s Jadwin Gymnasium, no Ivy gym seats more than 5,000 people and most of them have a capacity that’s closer to 2,000-3,000. Having been to every other Ivy gym, I can say that having smaller venues works pretty well for the Ivy League.

Sure, with such small gyms, Ivy basketball matchups can sometimes feel like middle school pick-up games. The two worst gyms by far are Dartmouth’s and Brown’s. And I don’t necessarily mean the facilities themselves. Both times I’ve been to the Big Green’s Leede Arena, the atmosphere reminded me more of a hospital waiting room than a sporting event. And when I went to Brown’s senior night two years ago, I was blown away by how few people were in attendance. According to the box score from that game, there were 1,393 fans at the game, but I’m going to call bullshit. My younger brother’s freshman basketball team regularly draws a bigger crowd than the one I saw in Providence, R.I. that night.

Admittedly, it’s pretty easy to understand why the Bears and the Big Green struggle to draw a crowd—they’re currently seventh and eighth in the league, respectively, and don’t seem like they’re going to be that good anytime SEE CLEARY, page 6

BY ZACH GLUBIAK Spectator Senior Staff Writer As Columbia enters the first full weekend of the second half of its conference slate, the Lions find themselves at a crossroads of sorts.

The Light Blue boasts a 14-10 (3-5 Ivy) record, and has been close in every Ancient Eight contest this year, losing five games by a combined 17 points—the largest of which was a five-point decision to Harvard in Boston, Mass. where the Crimson haven’t lost in 24 games.

Yet those close losses—particularly last Saturday’s 59-58 defeat to Yale—loom large heading into back-to-back trips to Princeton’s Jadwin Gymnasium and Penn’s The Palestra, two of the most storied venues in the league.

On Friday, Princeton’s big men may pose a matchup problem for the Light Blue. Junior Ian Hummer leads the Tigers in scoring with 16.7 points per game and on the glass with 7.7 rebounds per game.

Although he will need to be accounted for, head coach Kyle Smith worries about 6-foot-9 forward Mack Darrow, who can stretch defenses with the outside shot.

Darrow had 10 points on 2-for-3 shooting from downtown in the Tigers’ 62-58 win over Columbia on Jan. 14.

“I thought we did a really good job on Hummer,” Smith said. “But they make it hard, because Darrow can step out and hit the three and that’s a tough matchup. So we’ve got to find a better way to get [center Mark] Cisco on other guys.”

Despite limiting Hummer to 11 points on 3-for-10 shooting in the first matchup, Smith warned of his potential to wreak havoc on opposing defenses.

ALYSON GOULDEN / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

BARBOUR SHOP

|

Junior guard Brian Barbour scored 25 points against both Penn and Princeton at the season’s start.

SEE MEN’S BBALL, page 6

Hummer poses inside threat for CU post players Lions head to National Championships

BY HAHN CHANG Spectator Staff Writer

The Columbia men’s squash team will head to Princeton, N.J., to compete at the College Squash Association National Team Championships this weekend. The No. 14 Lions (5-10) will compete in the tournament’s B Division, with their first game against Navy on Friday.

This season has been a great success for the relatively new team, heavily populated with freshmen and sophomores under the direction of head coach Jacques Swanepoel.

Squash only became a varsity sport at Columbia in the fall of 2010, and Swanepoel has been pleased by the forward strides the players have already made.

The Light Blue has set several impressive milestones this season, including its first Ancient Eight win, which came against the Bears, and placement in the B Division at Nationals.

“This season has definitely been a success,” Swanepoel said. “We had a first Ivy win in the history of the program. They work extremely hard in practice and matches. We look pretty strong going into the nationals.”

“Beating Brown has been the biggest milestone in our program,” senior co-captain Anchit Nayar said.

Nayar added that it will be a challenge to continue the program’s growth and development as the Light Blue faces tough Ivy League opponents, but he is confident that it is within the Lions’ reach.

At last year ’s National Championships, Columbia played in the C Division. In the opening round, the Lions faced Wesleyan, who had

Last year, Princeton stunned the sporting world as it almost took out national powerhouse Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Then- opponent profile sophomore forward Ian Hummer led the Tigers by hauling in eight rebounds and scoring 11 points to help keep Princeton’s March Madness hopes alive until the final seconds.

“We were only a few seconds away from knocking off Kentucky. With the loss of three key seniors, we knew we would have a lot of work to do this season,” Hummer said.

In the first part of the season it looked like Princeton (13-10, 4-3 Ivy) wouldn’t be able to replicate its 2010-2011 magic, but Princeton turned heads again last Saturday by taking out another national powerhouse, No. 25 Harvard, 70-62.

“We didn’t go in thinking we had to beat a top 25 team—instead we came in thinking we had to beat Harvard, one of our biggest rivals,” Hummer said.

“Even though we have dropped a few games, we know there is still a chance to make a run in the league. It is going to be hard, but I think we are playing the kind of basketball that can make that possible.”

Not only did Princeton play one of its best games of the season against Harvard, but Hummer also surpassed his performance against Kentucky and established himself as one of the top big men in the league. After being limited to just four points against Dartmouth the day before, the 6-foot-7 forward bounced back quickly by scoring 20 points and snagging nine rebounds against the Crimson.

“While leading the game in scoring was just icing on the cake, the fact that we were able to beat Harvard was by far the biggest accomplishment of the night,” Hummer said.

SEE MEN’S SQUASH, page 6

SEE OPPONENT PROFILE, page 6

BY MIA PARK Spectator Staff Writer

Even though Hummer does not stand as the tallest member of the Princeton squad, he may be one of the most physical players that the Lions will face as he leads the Tigers in both scoring (16.7 points per game) and rebounding (7.7

rebounds per game).

“He’s a physical beast. If you are not ready to fight, he will take your heart,” Columbia men’s basketball head coach SEE OPPONENT PROFILE, page 6

LUKE HENDERSON / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

HUNGRY TIGER | Princeton junior forward Ian Hummer leads the Tigers in scoring, and his physicality poses a major challenge for the CU post players.

Weekend

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2012 • PAGE B1

NYC celebrates Mardi Gras: New Orleans style

BY JENNY PAYNE, OLIVIA AYLMER, AND ALLISON SCHLISSEL Columbia Daily Spectator

In these bleak months of winter and the flurry of mid-semester stress, let not the Mardi Gras holiday be forgotten. Throughout the city, there will be plenty of exciting, affordable events taking place over the coming days that are guaranteed to draw huge crowds of partygoers. From genuine New Orleans musicians to bevies of drink specials, Manhattan is poised to take its place as the second-best city in which to celebrate the spirit of the “The Big Easy” with four unique festivities.

What: Sixth Annual NolaFunk.com Mardi Gras Ball

Where: Hiro Ballroom (88 Ninth Ave. at 16th Street) When: Saturday, Feb. 18 and Sunday, Feb. 19, 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Tickets: CEGPresents.com, ticketweb.com, (866) 468-7619 This year, the NolaFunk Mardi Gras Ball will offer guests not one, but two chances to celebrate the spirit of New Orleans in the company of some of its most talented musical acts. The “authentic musicianship” sets this ball apart from others in the city, as it will bring in big names such as New Orleans royalty Kermit Ruffins and his band the BBQ Swingers, hybrid vintage funk, rock, and jazz band Bonerama, and renowned keyboardist Marco Benevento.

Hiro Ballroom event promoter Howie Schnee said that the NolaFunk Ball provides “a pipeline from New Orleans to New York, and vice versa.” He said that this ball is perfect for New Yorkers searching for a real New Orleansstyle musical experience. “Besides the décor, beads, party atmosphere, what our Mardi Gras Balls have that the others don’t is the authentic musicianship directly from the Big Easy,” Schnee said of event’s musical offerings. Music has always played a starring role in Mardi Gras festivities, and the NolaFunk Ball promises to live up to this legacy with their exciting set lists over the course of the weekend.

16th Annual Second Avenue Mardi Gras Stroll

When: Saturday, Feb. 18, 1-9pm Tickets: Must be 21+. Register at TG Whitney’s (53rd Street between Second and Third avenues) from 1-6 p.m., walk-up tickets $15 The only thing better than a day of bar-hopping is doing so within three blocks of Midtown East. The Second Avenue Mardi Gras Stroll offers guests the chance to kick off their revelries with exclusive food and drink specials, and of course, loads of free beads, while joining over a hundreds of fellow partiers in the merriment. “Last year’s Stroll had over 850 people in attendance! This year’s ticket sales are pacing faster than ever, so we’re expecting over 1,000 people this Saturday,” said vice president of operations of the event Josh Weiner. Party lovers from all over the city seeking an escape from their busy schedules are encouraged to attend: “New York knows how to have a good party, no matter when it is,” Weiner said. In an effort to add some goodwill to the fun, guests are encouraged to bring two canned goods to be donated to City Harvest, a program that seeks to feed those less fortunate in the NY area, and will receive $5 off admission by participating. Weiner says the event is ideal for its cheap price, good location, and free beads. “We got the beads. It’s all about the beads!”

Third Annual Two Boots Mardi Gras Ball

Where: Le Poisson Rouge (159 Bleecker St. between Sullivan and Thompson Streets) When: Tuesday, Feb. 21, 7 p.m. doors Tickets: $20 in advance at girlsclub.org, $25 at the door. VIP tickets available for $100 including open bar until 10 p.m., catered food by Two Boots, and reserved seating.

In search of a Mardi Gras event that has it all—the music, the drinks, the beads, the costume contest. Look no further than the Two Boots Mardi Gras Ball. With Nuyorican Boogaloo of Los Po-Boy-Citos flying in straight from New Orleans, the Raya Brass Band on the dance floor, and The Girl’s DJ Collective spinning through the night, no dull moments will be found at this authentic downtown fête thrown on Fat Tuesday itself. In addition to the musical entertainment, local art star Anthony Zito, a costume contest, and a raffle to win a trip to New Orleans will bring the event to life. “Two Boots celebrates the culture and cuisine of New Orleans every day at all of our stores, so throwing the city’s best Mardi Gras party is a natural fit,” Two Boots owner Phil Hartman of the event said. Presiding over the party will be writer and Warhol favorite Taylor Mead as King and actress and founder of The Living Theatre Judith Malina as Queen. The Ball will be produced and underwritten by Two Boots, with all proceeds going to support the Lower Eastside Girls Club. “Our goal has been to not only raise money for the Lower Eastside Girls Club, but to defeat the ‘boobs for beads mentality’ that seems to have taken over Mardi Gras,” said Hartman.

Harlem Mardi Gras Masked Ball

ILLUSTRATION BY MONICA CARTY

Where: St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 521 W. 126th St. When: Saturday, Feb. 18, 6:30 p.m.

Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at the door Those seeking to celebrate Mardi Gras in costume while supporting a good cause need look no further than just down the street at the St. Mary’s Episcopal Church Mardi Gras Masked Ball. Now an annual event returning for a second year by community members’ popular demand, this festival promises its masquerading attendants great food, great music, and great company. Though St. Mary’s is known at Columbia for its protests against the Manhattanville campus, this weekend, it will take on a more upbeat purpose, with live music from the Swingtones and DJ Kymmy along with Cajun-style food and raffle contests offer an “occasion to not only have a lot of fun, but also fundraise for street outreach to the homeless,” according to the Rev. Earl Kooperkamp. All proceeds from the ticket purchases will go to local food pantries to support homeless and low-income residents, building on the church’s long-standing tradition of community involvement and development. Kooperkamp said the event both brings together community members and offers a great time to all involved: “People getting together and having fun gets them out of the pressure of everyday life ... Everybody enjoys getting dressed up and trying to figure out who’s behind which mask.”

WEEKEND

PAGE B2

Best of

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

Free Makeovers

Abrasive winter weather and Butler all-nighters accompanied by Kant and de Tocqueville can be trying on skin. Fortunately, most department stores, as well as specialty stores, offer the perfect antidote: free makeover services for the cash-strapped customer willing to sit through the sales pitch. For last-minute pampering, Weekend has a few suggestions on how to get the royal treatment at a pauper’s price. —Katy Tong

Benefit Boutique

Molten Brown

Frédéric Fekkai

M.A.C.

For speedy fixes to specific trouble spots, make a visit to a Benefit (454 West Broadway, between Prince and Spring streets) counter and ask for a five- to 10-minute “Make-Upper,” the store’s free makeup application service. Whether the beauty issue involves blemish scars or stubborn under-eye circles, a consultant will direct any make-up novice to the right products and the proper way to apply them. To get a self-start on achieving flawless skin, scope out the Boi-ing “industrial-strength” concealer ($19) and the Benetint lip and cheek stain ($29).

The London import Molten Brown (515 Madison Ave., between 53rd and 54th streets), specializing in spa and salon services, understands the draw of a soothing massage and the sweet siren sound of “complimentary.” For a quick break from the hard knocks of life, the store’s free halfhour mini-facials include all the primping basics: cleansing, toning, exfoliating, and mask. The boutique also offers free makeup applications and even hand massages on appointment.

There’s a loophole to receiving complimentary services from pop culture’s favorite French coiffeur, who keeps a salon and spa from inside the hallowed Henri Bendel (712 Fifth Ave., between 55th and 56th streets). Apply to be a model for Fekkai via their website, and if selected, receive trimonthly hair care—gratis—as a bonus for fulfilling the hairstylists’ needs. The starquality shop also offers private stations for mani/pedis and facials, as well as a separate men’s wing.

With a plethora of lipstick and eye shadow shades that run the gamut from “Viva Glam Gaga” to “Russian Red,” as well as Holy Grail items such as “Mineralize Skinfinish Natural” and “Studio Fix Powders,” a trip to the M.A.C. counter (113 Spring St., between Mercer and Greene streets) is a surefire way to give any downcast face an uplift.

Professionally trained makeup artists offer free makeover assistance upon request, but for more tailored guidance, the store offers 45-minute application services ($45) or 90-minute makeup lessons ($90) with add-on goodies included in the price.

ILLUSTRATION BY IONE WANG

Neighborhood Watch Parm Restaurant et East Houston Stre

ry

Bowe

Prince Street

Stree

treet

rry S

ette Lafay

NOLITA

Haute Hippie

e Mulb

With a price tag of up to $50 dollars per person, a meal at breakout Nolita restaurant Torrisi Italian Specialties is out of the question for most Columbians. Luckily, Torrisi recently opened sister restaurant Parm next door, applying Torrisi’s high-quality approach to cheap and filling staples like its namesake sandwiches.

Parm begins seating patrons for dinner at 6 p.m. sharp, but hungry diners are more than welcome to seat themselves at the restaurant’s vintage lunch-counter-cum-bar beforehand and enjoy a drink or some small plates. A sure bet at the bar are the pizza knots ($5), fresh from the oven, slightly doughy at the center and dressed with garlic, olive oil, and parmesan cheese. Much like everything else at Parm, the knots are like the Platonic ideal of a pizzeria dish most people have enjoyed hundreds of times—familiar, but startlingly unique.

Once seated, diners can choose from the nightly specials or enjoy a chicken, meatball, or eggplant parm. Proteins are served on either round rolls ($8), heros ($11), or by themselves on a platter ($15). In line with the restaurant’s casual spirit, the dishes are best enjoyed in sandwich form, layered with fresh tomato sauce, gooey mozzarella, and basil in a soft, sesame-seed-encrusted bun. Every ingredient of Parm’s sandwiches is distinct, avoiding the goopy mess many associate with Italian comfort food.

After waiters in paper hats have cleared away the red plastic basket that most dishes at Parm are served in, diners can enjoy a creamy, sugary treat in the form of a traditional zeppole ($5), which finishes an already filling evening on an especially high note. All in all, Parm is an excellent restaurant for students who want to enjoy the very best of New York’s food scene in a laid-back setting and on a tight budget.

—Alison Herman

t

Haute Hippie’s flag, emblazoned with its logo, loudly proclaims the store’s presence as a fresh bohemian addition to the Nolita neighborhood. As the brand’s first boutique (9 Prince Street between Elizabeth and Bowery streets), the store beckons customers with mannequins decked out with generous helpings of chiffon and intricate sequin detailing, showing off what Haute Hippie does best.

Julia Inglesias Musachio, the store manager, describes the Haute Hippie aesthetic as “passionate, sophisticated gypsies.” Certainly, the store decorations evoke its free and whimsical side, from the rhinestone-studded cow skull to the pictures of nude women scattered throughout the store.

With plush sofas and a faded tapestry rug , though, Haute Hippie makes it “super-inviting to come and relax, especially couples,” Musachio said.

Dominated by primarily neutral colors with intermittent pops of bright red, orange, and teal, the Haute Hippie selection mostly consists of diaphanous maxi dresses, draped tops, and leather jackets. The price range is not for an average college student’s tight purse strings though, with a sequin-embellished maxi dress costing $1,395.

Tucked in a separate half of the store is Haute Hippie’s diffusion line Haute Hoodie, which incorporates both men’s and women’s fashion geared toward a more casual lifestyle.

A cabin-like space, its walls collaged with cowboy imagery, evokes a non-fussy masculinity where the nostalgic “back to the old days” idea is manifested in their simple classic staples such as the white T-shirt, black leggings, and chunky tribal print sweaters. However, Haute Hoodie’s designs still don’t come cheap, with a plain V-neck T-shirt costing $85.

Amid the clothing, Haute Hippie’s jewelry selection proves to be the standout, tempering the carefree aesthetic with gothic undertones featuring claws and snakes clutching raw-looking stones.

Haute Hippie and Haute Hoodie’s embellishment and tailoring are impeccable, without a stray thread in sight. “We pay attention to detail and care,” Musachio said. Whether or not one can afford Haute Hippie, it is worth a trip to see their designs and be a gypsy for a day.

—Olivia Lu

MANHATTAN GRAPHIC BY SINJIHN SMITH

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

WEEKEND

Hip-hop history: Film traces genre’s path to global appeal

BY PATRICK SALAZAR Columbia Daily Spectator New York may be the birthplace of hip-hop, but “The Furious Force of Rhymes,” a 2010 documentary being screened Monday, showcases just how far its influence has spread. In Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and director Joshua Litle takes viewers all on a global journey while exploring how hip-hop has permeated other cultures.

Litle chose to focus on countries where hiphop is used as a form of social expression. It was after watching the French film “La Haine” (translation: “Hate”), which he described as a “sort of French ‘Boyz n The-Hood,’” that Litle was turned on to the global spread of hip-hop’s influence.

After beginning his film by exploring hiphop’s roots in New York during the 1970s, Litle had a specific criteria for choosing which countries and artists to highlight in the feature.

“There had to be some real social issues at play.

It wasn’t enough that artists were speaking politically, there had to be some social context to explore,” he explained.

These different social issues within specific communities were important for Curtis John, the curator of the ActNow New Voices in Black Cinema Festival. The four-day series at BAM, now in its second year, features the film in addition to 14 others in an effort to highlight upand-coming filmmakers of color. For John, the most striking aspect of the film was how the experiences of communities in other countries were so similar to those of the artists who came out of the Black Diaspora. “It was shocking. I had no idea they had it so poorly and had to struggle to find who they are,” he said.

The universality was one of the main reasons John had for selecting the film to play at the festival. “It shows you all sides. It doesn’t really minimize the voice of these people. If anything, it enhances it greatly,” John added. Litle noted that “many films have focused on hip-hop in specific places but this one of the few, if not the only, film to focus on a multinational, multicultural perspective of the movement.”

The film is focused on hip-hop as a social movement, though Litle was quick to clarify that “hip-hop is an art form that takes on many permutations and manifestations ... [The movie] is not a judgment of other kinds of hip-hop so much as it is a celebration of what I find most interesting.”

“Furious Force” tells stories from all over the world, but both Litle and John think the appeal of the movie to many different social groups extends beyond just these locations.

“Musicians and artists find a way to tell their story and connect to people,” said John of the universal allure of hip-hop. “It’s shocking, you see how people in Israel, and other parts of the world, are struggling to find their voice. It’s beautiful to see people using music as a way to find themselves.”

“The Furious Force of Rhymes” is being screened on Monday, Feb. 20 at BAM, with a Q&A with the director after. French Grammynominated R&B group Les Nubians, featured in the film, will also be at the event. Tickets are $12 for students.

Handmade crafts are making a comeback, according to Nathalie Sann.

Sann, the author of three books and an artisan specializing in embroidery and gold leaf, will publish a book that profiles the work of craftsmen in New York, titled “Made in New York: Handcrafted Works by Master Artisans,” on March 27.

“I like the value of doing things by hand,” Sann said. According to Sann, most people prefer artisans’ handcrafted works over mass-produced items.

“I think people are a little bit tired of things who are all done in China. I don’t think the quality is really there and it’s not exactly what they expected.

And I think more people are careful about what they’re surrounded by.”

Sann came up with the idea for the project two years ago in France, when she spoke with Renaud Dutreil, a French former minister of small business and craftsmanship. Dutreil currently works to preserve artisanship through legislation.

With the introduction for her book, Sann said that she “understood from the beginning that the

Of butchery and brisket

I

have been without brisket. Every year the winter becomes more difficult for me to survive. I have not had my father’s brisket, cooked with carrots and celery and potatoes until it all disintegrates JASON into gravy. Nothing is quite so BELL beautiful as the briskets I’ve In Defense missed.

At Schatzie The Butcher, of you can buy whole roasted Delicious chickens, dry aged prime rib, and the brisket I have been missing my whole life. Tony Schatzie, a fifthgeneration butcher, is the owner. Butchery runs through his blood. In 2010, Schatzie moved the shop across the park from Madison Avenue to Amsterdam. Two years have already put authentic age on the walls. Schatzie and his meat are embedded in the neighborhood. The man is a mystery and a mountain.

Wherever he stands, the pilgrims come. He is no saint but a saint of steak.

Schatzie’s brisket, the dirty stuff, is laced with a thin barbecue sauce—and it’s real fat, sweet beef fat. The recipe comes from Texas.

It goes between slices of spongy white bread, maybe it’s tzitzel, or am I just dreaming? Is it too good to be true? It disappears like a dream.

Last year, I lived on Amsterdam and became intimate with the anatomy of the block: the crowds outside Barney Greengrass and Popover Café on weekends, the Eurotrash smoking outside the youth hostel, Dunkin’, and hustlers around the projects. I habitually ran by Schatzie the Butcher and thought, my god, and passed without stopping. But I longed to go on pilgrimage.

It took me months of doubt to make my way through the door. When I finally found my way to Schatzie, the desire for spring rain had bloomed in my bones. Gribenes, cold beef, and white canvas jackets scent the threshold.

Schatzie works the counter, the crowd, his new website, and the phone, shouts “Señor, open the door por favor!” and wraps up chicken dinners. “Are you getting my thin side?” he asks me, posing before I get my pastrami.

It’s raining. My lunch steams and drips fat. Thick sliced meat and mustard on rye. It’s a lecherous whore. I eat the sandwich like I have never eaten.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BAMCINÉMATEK/ACTNOW

RHYTHM ‘N RHYME Director Joshua Litle documents the birth and spread of hip-hop in his 2010 documentary ”The Furious Force of Rhymes,” now being screened Monday at BAM. |

‘Made in New York’ to showcase the work of unsung local artisans

BY LESLEY THULIN Spectator Senior Staff Writer

PAGE B3

route to acceptance and support for artisans in the United States would not be legislation, but rather education.”

Sann hopes her book will gesture toward such education, drawing inspiration from other countries.

“I think people are a little bit tired of things who are all done in China.”

—Nathalie Sann “The [French] government has a list of all the métiers you can find,” she said. “And I tried to find somebody who was doing the same thing here [in the United States] for each one.”

Despite this, she said that was “struck” by the amount of practicing craftsmen in New York. Sann visited the City’s five boroughs and even ventured upstate and through New Jersey to spotlight the

book’s 40 artisans, which include a basket weaver, a calligrapher, a glassblower, a glover, a metalsmith, a piano maker, a taxidermist, and a wood turner.

Some of the most interesting artists she profiled included taxidermist George A. Dante, Jr. in Woodland Park, N.J.; decoy carver Robert Hand in Sag Harbor, N.Y.; and Daniel Storto, the last glover in Gloversville, N.Y. Sann said she hopes the book’s photographs of the artisans at work will draw people to read about the artisans’ “amazing” personal stories and their ability to adapt their work to the current economic situation.

But Americans already show a great deal of interest in craftsmanship, said Sann.

“The [American] people, they value the work here much more than they [the French] value the work in France.”

Sann attributes this phenomenon to the fact that there are many fewer artisans in the United States than there are in France.

“You respect the artisan a lot. When people see an artisan, they talk to him like somebody very important. They’re very amazed that people are still able to do artisan work.”

Well could he know a draught of London ale. He could roast and seethe and boil and fry, and bake pies—“Tell him I loved the pies!”

A woman pokes her head in the shop and retreats while Schatzie takes a break.

I went with my pastrami sandwich to the West Park Presbyterian Church. It’s raining.

My lunch steams and drips fat. Thick sliced meat and mustard on rye. It’s a lecherous whore. I eat the sandwich like I have never eaten. At first, I put half the sandwich in my mouth and nearly choke to death. I imagine reclining on the church steps, on a bed of stones, just another corpse killed by an overfondness for pastrami.

In his controversial conclusion to “The Renaissance,” Walter Pater describes the human experience as a summation of sensation.

“Every moment some form grows perfect in hand or face; some tone on the hills or the sea is choicer than the rest; some mood of passion or insight or intellectual excitement is irresistibly real and attractive to us,—for that moment only. Not the fruit of experience, but experience itself, is the end.” A Schatzie sandwich is an end in itself.

The golden age of butchery has gone: we now inhabit a state of decadent decline. Those kids in Brooklyn, bringing carcass-cutting back? Fadsters, fakers, phonies. They’ve got no genealogy. Schatzie has a something that resists imitation. He holds the special authority of history in his meat hook hands.

Jason Bell is a Columbia College junior majoring in English. In Defense of Delicious runs alternate Fridays.

Just gimme some truth: Do stage personas compromise an artist’s authenticity?

L

ast Sunday, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl used his Grammy win as a platform to speak out on what makes music authentic. “It’s not about being perfect,” he said. “It’s not about what DAVID goes on in a computer.” He ECKER continued, “It’s about what goes on in here,” pointing S l i g h t ly to his heart, “and what goes Off on in here,” pointing to his Key head. Although the presentation was a bit melodramatic, his general argument is a widely held belief.

We saw just how much so in the responses to Lana Del Rey’s awkwardly bad performance on “Saturday Night Live.” The main issue the critics had was not her skill as a performer but rather her authenticity as an artist. “She changed her name, you know,” they say. “She must be a phony!”

Yes—she changed her name, but as the Huffington Post was quick to point out, so did Declan McManus (Elvis Costello), Reginald

Dwight (Elton John), and Allen Konigsberg (Woody Allen). I don’t equate her with any of these geniuses (in fact I’d go as far as to say I’m not a fan), but creating an artistic persona doesn’t necessarily make her a phony.

Truth in art is a tricky thing.

We expect authenitcity, yet we also expect creativity. We want something we’ve never heard before, but we want it to be relatable. Artists are creators, not documentarians.

Truth in art is a tricky thing. We expect authenticity, yet we also expect creativity. We want something we’ve never heard before, but

we want it to be relatable. Artists are creators, not documentarians. Strike that­— even documentarians take artistic license. While a created persona might not follow the dictionary definition of “truth,” it can definitely represent the artist’s inner truth.

Musicians create a persona because that’s how they see themselves, and that’s how they feel they can most effectively share their music with the world. Why should something as personal as art be subject to superficial labels such as the surnames we inherited from our great-great-great grandfathers? As an artist, your calling is to create something out of nothing. Why should your artistic persona be any different?

The one caveat to this is when management forces a persona onto a rising star. I don’t think it happens quite as much as our skeptical music fans think, but it does happen. For this situation I think the best judge of truth is time. Does the artist stick to their stage name long after they need to, or do they ditch it the moment they ditch their current management?

That being said, even if they do it’s always

possible for them to reclaim control of their own career. We should always be wary that we don’t miss out on good music just because someone has had a commercial streak in the past. By this logic we would have abandoned the Beatles after their first couple of albums, and we would have never seen any of George Carlin’s HBO specials.

College students are perhaps the most skeptical about “truth” in music, and I can’t for the life of me figure out why. It’s the time in our lives when we are the most experimental with our identities, when we go through an unhealthy number of “phases,” and when we consume art we don’t even like simply to seem “intellectual.” We should be the most understanding demographic when it comes to wild personas, fake names, and fabricated identities. We all have different taste in music, and that should be what guides our listening habits, not pretentious arguments about an artist’s inherent “authenticity.”

David Ecker is a first-year in Columbia College.

Slightly Off Key runs alternate Fridays.

PAGE B4

WEEKEND

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

Flipside Guide ‘William Wellman’ First winner of the Best Picture Award has films screened at Film Forum

BY JOSEPH POMP Spectator Senior Staff Writer

WHERE IT’S AT

Although he may not have as many classic films to his name as, say, John Ford or Howard Hawks, William A. Wellman had as illustrious a career as a Hollywood director as anyone.

He steadily churned out pictures in just about every genre, beginning in 1919 all the way through 1958. With over 80 credits as a director, and nearly a dozen as screenwriter and producer, Wellman is well-deserving of a sprawling retrospective. Film Forum (209 W. Houston St. between Sixth Avenue and Varick Street) is doing just that. The massive, 42-title series continues now through March 1.

This weekend’s offerings focus on his contributions to the Western and action-adventure genres, which constitute a large part of his body of work. One of his best-known films, “The OxBow Incident” screens today at 1 p.m. and throughout Saturday as a double feature with another Western, “Yellow Sky,” which stars Gregory Peck and Richard Widmark.

Considered as one of the most important Westerns ever made, “The Ox-Bow Incident” stars Henry Fonda as a cowboy who combats a hysteric mob that has taken over his small town in Nevada and taken hostage several innocent bypassers, including Anthony Quinn as a Mexican drifter. Clocking in at a mere 75 minutes, the film packs a real punch, delivering not only the expected showdown thrills but also a social message about authority, law, and rebellion.

“The Ox-Bow Incident” is based on the eponymous novel by Walter Van Tilburg Clark, who also wrote the source novel for Wellman’s later color Western “Track of the Cat” (screening next Friday), which has recently been rediscovered by critics and hailed as an overlooked masterpiece. Western aficionados should also check out “The Call of the Wild” which stars Clark Gable and will screen as a double feature with the 1939 Gary Cooper vehicle “Beau Geste” this Sunday and Monday.

Although Wellman also made a body of beloved screwball comedies, he is perhaps best known for his action-adventure films because they were his most personal.

Nicknamed “Wild Bill,” he had an illustrious run as a fighter pilot in the late 1910s before being shot down by German counterforces in 1918. This love for adventure continued throughout his life, although he thereafter channeled it through filmmaking.

He made his directorial debut in 1919, but his major breakthrough came in 1927, when he directed “Wings,” a silent film about World War I pilots, which won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Picture.

Despite the industry accolades he garnered over the course of his career, Wellman is not particularly exalted among critics. In his auteur urtext “The American Cinema: Directors and Directions,” Columbia alumnus and Professor Emeritus Andrew Sarris placed Wellman under the pejorative category “Less Than Meets the Eye.” The excitement this series has already aroused in local cinephiles since it started last Friday, however, demonstrates that Wellman’s body of work is one that merits more attention. Many of his films have either been forgotten or neglected over the years.

This festival is a perfect chance to discover some little-known genre gems and the classics, too.

WHERE IT’S AT Time: Through Mar. 1, various times Place: Film Forum Cost: $12.50 Rating: »»»» PHOTO COURTESY OF FILM FORUM

CINEMA AMERICANA | With credits that span efforts from “The Ox-Bow Incident” to “The Call of the Wild,” William Wellman earns a well-deserved retrospective from Film Forum.

Time: Through April 17, various times Place: Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology Cost: Free Rating: »»»« NAOMI ELLENSON FOR SPECTATOR

DRESS TO IMPRESS | The Council of Fashion Designers of America celebrates a half century in a special exhibition at the Fashion Institute of Technology documenting the growth and expansion of American fashion.

‘IMPACT: 50 Years of the CFDA’ Fashion designers bring out best of American couture for CFDA exhibit

BY ANDREW GONZALEZ Columbia Daily Spectator In honor of 50 years of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, or CFDA for short, the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology has developed an exhibition of garments that represents the growth and expansion of American fashion from as early as 1963.

New York City serves as the main inspiration for the visual and structural organization of the exhibition, which inhabits a cube-shaped room. The geometric spacing of garments and symmetrical framework are both reminiscent of Manhattan’s grid-like makeup and reflect curator Patricia Mears’ vision of “presenting [the garments] as democratically as possible.”

Designers are faced with the same issues every day: how to find good venues for their clothes and how to expand their brands. With these questions in mind, Mears sought to methodically organize the exhibition and grouped garments thematically. “Cheeky” menswear and elegant evening wear are groupings viewers might encounter with designs by Thom Browne, Bill Blass, Michael Kors, and Ralph Lauren.

A wool knit mini dress designed by Rudi Gernreich in 1963 adds a nice touch to a collection of simple dresses, admired by exhibition-goers for their vibrant and sophisticated surface designs. The composition of black parachute cloth, a feather jacket, a skirt, and a turban brings to life Norma Kamali’s vision of New York and current avant-garde trends, all of which represent the monochromatic black styles one might see while walking on the street.

The exhibition also highlights designer Oscar de la Renta, whose silk taffeta gown with a black guipure bodice, designed for this spring, turns heads with a stark contrast between the garment’s black bodice and bright yellow silk gown. Some other highlights of the exhibit include a simple black, mermaid-like gown designed by Vera Wang, an extravagant red gown with a long train designed by Zac Posen, and an outfit designed for FedEx workers by former CFDA President Stan Herman.

At a press preview held on Feb. 9, CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg remarked on the success of American fashion designers, and the continuing growth and development of ideas that bring everyday, editorial, and avant-garde fashions to the next level. “Design and pragmatism” are the crux of good designs, Furstenberg said, further commenting on her vision for the CDFA’s expansion and contributions to fashion.

Furstenberg also remarked, with much pride, that “American fashion is about success and the American dream. This is what the sea of American talent is about.” In Furstenberg’s eyes, we all come from different places and our unification makes us strong.

Nicely represented throughout the exhibit, American fashion has served as a means of communication, unification, and progress not only for America, but for countries around the globe seeking inspiration in the competition that is fashion. And although a fierce competition, the designs displayed at this exhibit powerfully reinforce the impact American designers have had on both domestic and international fashion scene.

The Museum at FIT will continue displaying these approximately 100 garments and accessories through April 17.

‘Weegee: Murder Is My Business’ Prolific photographer exposes seedy underbelly of NYC’s crime culture

BY JULIEN HAWTHORNE Columbia Daily Spectator New York City leads a double life.

One is for the family—it flaunts Little WHERE IT’S AT Orphan Annie on 42nd Street, parades Macy’s on Fifth Avenue and Time: Through Sept. 2, vari34th Street, and immortalizes the ous times Statue of Liberty just south of Lower Place: International Center Manhattan. The other life is a hidfor Photography den one, for the mistress–filled with Cost: $8 with CUID mobsters, crime scenes, and slums.

Rating: »»» “Weegee: Murder Is My Business,” at the International Center for Photography from Jan. 20 to Sept. 2, exhibits the photography of Weegee, the prolific photographer and self-promoter, as he immerses himself in this dirtier version of the city, specifically, the murder scenes, as the title of the exhibit suggests.

Though critics often state that Weegee was uninterested in creating “fine art,” this declaration is misleading. The exhibit’s photographs, though organic and unpretentious, are those of a master photographer, one who understood very well the techniques used to conceive an evocative photograph. These photographs, which originally appeared primarily in news tabloids and self-curated exhibitions, portray a violent, haphazard New York—a city lacking in reason, and resting far too comfortably with its daily butchery (Weegee himself claimed to have covered over 5000 murders).

Weegee self-consciously engineers the powerful effect, almost like film noir. The self-portraits in the first gallery seem to illustrate a character straight out of a Raymond Chandler novel. Photographs

show Weegee, built like a bulldog, dressed in a pinstripe suit, almost always with a cigar hanging out the corner of his mouth, looking at police evidence or pieces of broken glass recovered from a crime scene. Weegee clearly had an obsession with crime. One can almost see him soaking up the novelty of a jail cell or the gunsmith’s shop near a police station. His bedroom and studio, reconstructed for the exhibit, seemed to be dreamed up for a brooding detective, complete with a rusty steel frame twin bed, dirty blankets, and walls covered in gruesome newspaper clippings.

Weegee’s photography can be sensationalistic in its presentation, but subtle in its effects. One of Weegee’s defining characteristics as a photographer is his focus on the bystanders that surround “news.”

Murder is only the first domino for Weegee. He finds his true fascination in the faces transfixed by the murder. With expressions ranging from concerned, to perplexed, to altogether deadpan, all are fairly composed, compared to the shock that the viewers of Weegee’s violent photography can experience.

Weegee’s world is one that negotiates murder as news and murder as that which tears lives and communities apart. Though the same elements play a role in most of Weegee’s crime scenes (the police men collecting evidence, yellow tape isolating the incident, and cop cars converging around the victim), the viewer must pause at the bereaved who scatter the galleries. Though the surrounding environment is hectic, the actual murder scenes are still. The crimes Weegee depicts are their own worlds; seemingly ignored and isolated from those for whom they do not hold immediate impact.

“Weegee: Murder Is My Business,” can be a powerful experience for those willing to consider the reality beyond the bloody foreground.

A room in which murder is “business” has echoes that are shouted and whispered throughout the exhibit.

events FILM

Michael

ART

Swept Away

MUSIC

Sleigh Bells

— Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St., through Tuesday, Feb. 28, $12.50

— Museum of Arts & Design, 2 Columbus Circle at Broadway, $12 with CUID

—Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St., Sunday, Feb. 15 and 7:30 p.m.

Michael is a lonely insurance agent with a 10-year-old boy locked up in his soundproof basement. “Michael” is not an emotional thriller, though—instead, it’s a quiet portrait of the banality of evil.

As the name suggests, “Swept Away: Dust, Ashes, and Dirt in Contemporary Art and Design” is made from what would typically be considered filth. In the eyes and hands of these artists, though, it becomes art—like an ephemeral skull made out of a dirty feather duster and glue.

Brooklyn’s own noise pop group Sleigh Bells will perform at the Bowery Ballroom this Sunday. The duo, which formed in 2008, will release their new album, “Reign of Terror,” on Feb. 21.

THEATER

A Map of Virtue —Fourth Street Theatre, 83 E. Fourth St., through Saturday, Feb. 25 A man gives a stranger a statuette of a meadowlark. Coincidence brings them together in a frightening woodland cabin. With a smart psychological plot, great acting, and subtle set design, “A Map of Virtue” has won critical acclaim.